Former Spur Dwayne Schintzius dead at 43

The Spurs’ No. 1 draft pick in 1990 died Sunday after complications from leukemia. He was 43.

His career with the Spurs, while short, still has some memorable moments.

Interest was peaking for the Spurs after the 1990 season. David Robinson and Sean Elliott finished their rookie season with a memorable seven-game series loss to Portland in the Western Conference semifinals. That Spurs then thought to be a team on the verge of contending for multiple championships with the right roster addition.

I can still remember the “draft party” after that season at the old HemisFair Arena. Then-owner Red McCombs was as giddy as an excited schoolgirl at a Justin Bieber concert with the prospect of drafting Schintzius that year and didn’t hesitate to make his thoughts known to anybody who would ask him.

The Houston Rockets’ “Twin Towers” concept was in vogue at the time. McCombs visualized pairing Robinson and Schintzius together in a similar way with the Silver and Black.

Schintzius could pass a little from the high post and had a star-crossed career at Florida before quitting his team as a senior. He was a legitimate 7-foot-1 player who it was thought could play power forward and center. The fact he had a mullet haircut and looked a little like the villainous Ivan Drago from Rocky IV was only that much better in terms of box-office appeal, McCombs reasoned.

One problem, however. Schintzius never developed for the Spurs and spent only one season with the franchise. He made five starts in his rookie season here and didn’t see any action in the playoffs when the Spurs were knocked out of the first round of the playoffs by Golden State.

A trade over the summer to Sacramento for Antoine Carr started a circuitous NBA lifestyle that saw him play with six franchises over a nine-season career. The most memorable moment of his career came when he was under the basket as a member of the New Jersey Nets when Shaquille O’Neal had that memorable dunk that ripped down the backboard.

“I went through some rough times and because of my size, I was never somebody who could hide,” Schintzius told Tampa Bay Online during his illness. “But you know what? You’ve got to enjoy every day you’re on this planet.”

Schintzius is sixth on Florida’s all-time scoring list with 1,624 points. He remains the only player in Southeastern Conference history with more than 1,000 points, 800 rebounds, 250 assists and 250 blocked shots and led the Gators to their first three NCAA Tournament appearances.

Later, Schintzius had a brief role as a Russian basketball player Ivan Radovadovitch in the movie “Eddie,” a film that starred Whoopi Goldberg. He also later played himself in an episode of the cable television series Arliss.

His NBA career peaked that draft night in San Antonio. And unfortunately, it never came close to that promise once he started playing.